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Mary Richards ReportingSome nutritionists are calling for a surgeon general's warning on sodas. They say the soda is the leading cause of obesity.
"Twenty-eight percent of what we are drinking is carbonated soft drinks," says Jesse Shupe with the Utah State Department of Health. She says sometimes it feels like no one is listening. "This country is overweight. That's a fact. And people are going on all these crazy diets, but they still have their big refillable mugs that they are filling up with soda."
Shupe isn't sure whether a warning label on sodas will help.
"Honestly, there is already a warning label on sodas. It is called 'Nutrition Facts.' The problem is people are not paying attention to that," Shupe says.
"I think it's another one of those bits of information the public hasn't got its head around yet," says Nick Smith with the Early Sport Foundation. He says the research data clearly shows the danger of high-fructose corn syrup -- the key ingredient in Coke, Pepsi, etc. "The federal government has finally decided that the public needs to be aware of trans-fatty acids. It would not surprise me in the least if sometime in the next five to ten years there's not a similar warning about high-fructose corn syrup and some of the other common sweeteners.
Smith says people have to take responsibility for their own health. "If present trends continue, by the year 2020 every federal health care dollar will be used in treating this one disease - diabetes - alone," he says.
